Is it just me, or did anyone else see improved play from the left tackle position once Martin took over??? I know he gave up one sack, but initially the protection was good, that was a pressure sack and Tannehill should have gotten the ball out or throw it away. In my opinion, Martin looks much more comfortable at LT than RT. Perhaps we should consider a shift??? Martin at LT and Long at RT?

It makes it harder to hand Long a MEGA contract this offseason, even spending about $13 mil for the Franchise tag seems a waste when we could sign a couple skill players to help Tanny with that money. Finding a decent RT is less of an issue than a LT.

My opinion of our left tackle position is this. Martin will get a five game tryout to see whether or not he is capable of being our long term answer at left tackle. He has a very good test next week against a strong 49ers front. If he's able to hold his own in that game, and play well the remainder of the season, then I see no reason to spend big money to keep Jake Long. I'd rather take the compensatory pick and move on. There are several good young tackle prospects in the draft that we could take and put over on the right side. But first we need to see if Martin can handle the responsibility for the remainder of the season.

My opinion of our left tackle position is this. Martin will get a five game tryout to see whether or not he is capable of being our long term answer at left tackle. He has a very good test next week against a strong 49ers front. If he's able to hold his own in that game, and play well the remainder of the season, then I see no reason to spend big money to keep Jake Long. I'd rather take the compensatory pick and move on. There are several good young tackle prospects in the draft that we could take and put over on the right side. But first we need to see if Martin can handle the responsibility for the remainder of the season.

Exactly. Martin looked much more comfortable on the left side today, and if he plays well at OLT the rest of the year, Jake is gone in my opinion.

True, that's why I said that the remainder of the season should be treated like a tryout if you will. Lets see what the kid can do against San Francisco next week as well as the remainder of the schedule. If he plays well, then we don't need to fork over a ton of money for Long. If he stinks it up, then we'll probably have to franchise Jake at the least.

What I saw today was a huge improvement. I saw a kid who looks much more comfortable on the left side than he does the right. The kid has looked a step slow all season long on the right side and the position just hasn't become natural for him yet. But there was no mistaking that he made the switch from right to left today with very little effort. A guy who hasn't played the left side all season long suddenly takes over and does very well, that isn't a fluke.

He looked very fluid and natural playing on the left side today. He was a step ahead of his guy every play and we were even able to run to his side with success at times. His technique, his attitude, everything about him looked better. Did his opponent play a part, sure, but you can't deny this was one of his best games all year.

As I mentioned on the show tonight, Tom Condom is Jake's agent. I don't see him taking less even though Jake's play warrant his contract reflecting this. I see Tom wanting to get in the range of OLT Joe Thomas of Cleveland.

At this point, Jake is not in that caliber of player, and he has been hurt now for 3 straight seasons. I also don't see Jake switching to RT and keeping Jonathan at OLT, thus I think Jake is gone if Martin plays well these last few games at OLT.

As I mentioned on the show tonight, Tom Condom is Jake's agent. I don't see him taking less even though Jake's play warrant his contract reflecting this. I see Tom wanting to get in the range of OLT Joe Thomas of Cleveland.

At this point, Jake is not in that caliber of player, and he has been hurt now for 3 straight seasons. I also don't see Jake switching to RT and keeping Jonathan at OLT, thus I think Jake is gone if Martin plays well these last few games at OLT.

The 49ers will be a nice test for Martin, if he does well and finishes out the season strong, all bets are off.

I get what you're saying regarding Long's agent, but at the end of the day it isn't as if teams don't know that Long's play has declined and he has missed games the past two (not three) years. If he hits the open market, he isn't going to get Joe Thomas type money and I am sure he and his agent know that. They may try because there is no harm in trying, but he isn't going to get that type of deal.

And if he does, so be it. We let him walk. But if we can bring him back at a fair price, we should and let the positions sort themselves out later.

As I mentioned on the show tonight, Tom Condom is Jake's agent. I don't see him taking less even though Jake's play warrant his contract reflecting this. I see Tom wanting to get in the range of OLT Joe Thomas of Cleveland.

At this point, Jake is not in that caliber of player, and he has been hurt now for 3 straight seasons. I also don't see Jake switching to RT and keeping Jonathan at OLT, thus I think Jake is gone if Martin plays well these last few games at OLT.

The 49ers will be a nice test for Martin, if he does well and finishes out the season strong, all bets are off.

I get what you're saying regarding Long's agent, but at the end of the day it isn't as if teams don't know that Long's play has declined and he has missed games the past two (not three) years. If he hits the open market, he isn't going to get Joe Thomas type money and I am sure he and his agent know that. They may try because there is no harm in trying, but he isn't going to get that type of deal.

And if he does, so be it. We let him walk. But if we can bring him back at a fair price, we should and let the positions sort themselves out later.

But I'd rather get whatever type of compensatory pick we can get for him. It'll probably be a 6th round or later because I doubt anyone will give him much of a contract coming off of yet another injury

The 49ers will be a nice test for Martin, if he does well and finishes out the season strong, all bets are off.

I get what you're saying regarding Long's agent, but at the end of the day it isn't as if teams don't know that Long's play has declined and he has missed games the past two (not three) years. If he hits the open market, he isn't going to get Joe Thomas type money and I am sure he and his agent know that. They may try because there is no harm in trying, but he isn't going to get that type of deal.

And if he does, so be it. We let him walk. But if we can bring him back at a fair price, we should and let the positions sort themselves out later.

The 49ers will be an even bigger test for our interior line and backs, they like to bring pressure up the middle often....

_________________Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

But I'd rather get whatever type of compensatory pick we can get for him. It'll probably be a 6th round or later because I doubt anyone will give him much of a contract coming off of yet another injury

He's a former 1st overall pick and a perennial pro bowler, we'll get a 3rd, a 4th at the bare minimum. If we get a 3rd, then that will be fine with me. Getting a 3rd will allow us to use a 1st or 2nd round pick to find another offensive tackle. There are two offensive tackles coming out of Texas A&M (Sherman's Boys) and both look like legit 1st round prospects. If Martin shows that he's capable of playing LT long term, then we'll probably find ourselves in a good situation even if Long goes. Heck, we might even get better if things play out in our favor.

A 5-year, $45 million deal with about $10-15 million in guarantees is reasonable, with clauses that protect the Dolphins against missing playing time due to injury.

The guaranteed money can be spread out as a signing bonus, which amortizes over the 5 years, as well as roster bonuses, which he gets paid if he is on the team. This way, you can literally have him count $6-7 million against the cap in 2013 and still have another $45+ million to spend.

A 5-year, $45 million deal with about $10-15 million in guarantees is reasonable, with clauses that protect the Dolphins against missing playing time due to injury.

The guaranteed money can be spread out as a signing bonus, which amortizes over the 5 years, as well as roster bonuses, which he gets paid if he is on the team. This way, you can literally have him count $6-7 million against the cap in 2013 and still have another $45+ million to spend.

Possibly, it depends on what I see available in free agency and in the draft. The best scenario is one in which we are able to keep Long and draft a tackle in the middle rounds to develop. I just don't see too many tackles in free agency that immediately improve this offensive line.

But I'd rather get whatever type of compensatory pick we can get for him. It'll probably be a 6th round or later because I doubt anyone will give him much of a contract coming off of yet another injury

He's a former 1st overall pick and a perennial pro bowler, we'll get a 3rd, a 4th at the bare minimum. If we get a 3rd, then that will be fine with me. Getting a 3rd will allow us to use a 1st or 2nd round pick to find another offensive tackle. There are two offensive tackles coming out of Texas A&M (Sherman's Boys) and both look like legit 1st round prospects. If Martin shows that he's capable of playing LT long term, then we'll probably find ourselves in a good situation even if Long goes. Heck, we might even get better if things play out in our favor.

A compensatory pick has nothing to do with where he was drafted and nothing to do with how many pro bowls he won earlier in his career.

It has to do with the average salary of the contract he signs minus the salaries of any free agents we sign.If Jake gets a deal averaging $8m a year but we sign a FA for $8m a year, that nets out and there is no compensatory pick.

The NFL put the system in place to help create parity. If nobody thinks Jake is what he once was, we don't get any compensation. If we sign a marquee free agent, that makes up for losing a marquee free agent in te leagues eyes and we get no compensation.

A compensatory pick has nothing to do with where he was drafted and nothing to do with how many pro bowls he won earlier in his career.

It has to do with the average salary of the contract he signs minus the salaries of any free agents we sign.If Jake gets a deal averaging $8m a year but we sign a FA for $8m a year, that nets out and there is no compensatory pick.

The NFL put the system in place to help create parity. If nobody thinks Jake is what he once was, we don't get any compensation. If we sign a marquee free agent, that makes up for losing a marquee free agent in te leagues eyes and we get no compensation.

But we probably won't sign a free agent. We'll probably just draft a replacement. I believe in that instance we would get a high compensatory pick right?

Possibly, it depends on what I see available in free agency and in the draft. The best scenario is one in which we are able to keep Long and draft a tackle in the middle rounds to develop. I just don't see too many tackles in free agency that immediately improve this offensive line.

One or both of these guys are likely going to enter the draft this year. They're both graded out as 1st round prospects. Both guys know Sherman, Tannehill, and the offense very well. If Martin plays well, and both of these kids declare, then I think this is an easy decision.

A compensatory pick has nothing to do with where he was drafted and nothing to do with how many pro bowls he won earlier in his career.

It has to do with the average salary of the contract he signs minus the salaries of any free agents we sign.If Jake gets a deal averaging $8m a year but we sign a FA for $8m a year, that nets out and there is no compensatory pick.

The NFL put the system in place to help create parity. If nobody thinks Jake is what he once was, we don't get any compensation. If we sign a marquee free agent, that makes up for losing a marquee free agent in te leagues eyes and we get no compensation.

But we probably won't sign a free agent. We'll probably just draft a replacement. I believe in that instance we would get a high compensatory pick right?

One thing to note, it doesn't matter if we sign or draft a replacement for him. It just matters what we do on the free agent market. In other words, if we sign a big $$$ contract for a WR, that is the same as if we sign a big $$$ Left Tackle.

Having said that, I agree that we probably won't sign any big free agents.

So then, it all comes down to how much is the average salary of the contract Jake Long signs.If he gets a big contract, we can get a pick as high as a the end of the 3rd round. And compensatory picks cannot be traded.

I was screaming to trade Jake last offseason. I thought we could have at least gotten a 1st round pick and probably more. Now, we are hoping for a late 3rd, at best. Such a shame.

One or both of these guys are likely going to enter the draft this year. They're both graded out as 1st round prospects. Both guys know Sherman, Tannehill, and the offense very well. If Martin plays well, and both of these kids declare, then I think this is an easy decision.

So with all the lack of playmakers on offense and on the back-end of the defense, you think drafting a tackle in round 1 is the right way to go?

One or both of these guys are likely going to enter the draft this year. They're both graded out as 1st round prospects. Both guys know Sherman, Tannehill, and the offense very well. If Martin plays well, and both of these kids declare, then I think this is an easy decision.

So with all the lack of playmakers on offense and on the back-end of the defense, you think drafting a tackle in round 1 is the right way to go?

Baffling...

I imagine our 1st pick will be a WR.A tackle will probably be our 3rd pick, unless there is a bargain available at our 2nd pick.

One or both of these guys are likely going to enter the draft this year. They're both graded out as 1st round prospects. Both guys know Sherman, Tannehill, and the offense very well. If Martin plays well, and both of these kids declare, then I think this is an easy decision.

So with all the lack of playmakers on offense and on the back-end of the defense, you think drafting a tackle in round 1 is the right way to go?

Baffling...

I imagine our 1st pick will be a WR.A tackle will probably be our 3rd pick, unless there is a bargain available at our 2nd pick.

Just IMO

There's no WR worth taking in the top 15. Not even close, to be honest.

One or both of these guys are likely going to enter the draft this year. They're both graded out as 1st round prospects. Both guys know Sherman, Tannehill, and the offense very well. If Martin plays well, and both of these kids declare, then I think this is an easy decision.

So with all the lack of playmakers on offense and on the back-end of the defense, you think drafting a tackle in round 1 is the right way to go?

Baffling...

It depends. I consider o-line, wideout, and defensive backs to be our three biggest areas of need, and not in any particular order. If the right player lines up where we pick, I'd take whoever grades out the best at any one of those positions. We don't have to take a wideout round one, but I would think we'd need to take one in the first two rounds. Same thing goes for defensive backs and offensive linemen. We don't need to take one in the first round per say, but we probably should go after at least one in the first two rounds, and a pair in the first three to four rounds. If it were up to me, and thank god it isn't (wouldn't want the responsibility), I'd take two linemen, two receivers, and two defensive backs in the first four rounds (unless of course a steal came about). Then rounds five to seven I'd go best player available.

There's no WR worth taking in the top 15. Not even close, to be honest.

At this point only a DE really makes sense to me.

I'm not a draftnik. I'll take your word. Just going by needs and priorities.

I'm all up for making a terrifying front 7, then looking for WR help. And there's always free agency.

Here's the thing though. Widereceiver isn't our only major need. If Long goes, then offensive tackle becomes a big priority. Not only that, but we still have major needs in our defensive secondary. If the right wideout isn't there, maybe the right offensive tackle or defensive back is there.

I believe a great QB makes the OL better ditto with RB. Just my opinion. Look at the Pats, they have a patch work line yet they are playing for the #1 seed right now, ditto with GB. WHen has an OL won a SB? Never....Long didn't. Everything, EVERYTHING starts with a QB.

I believe a great QB makes the OL better ditto with RB. Just my opinion. Look at the Pats, they have a patch work line yet they are playing for the #1 seed right now, ditto with GB. WHen has an OL won a SB? Never....Long didn't. Everything, EVERYTHING starts with a QB.

Football Outsiders has a great update in regards to O-line statistics this year ...

Here's the thing though. Widereceiver isn't our only major need. If Long goes, then offensive tackle becomes a big priority. Not only that, but we still have major needs in our defensive secondary. If the right wideout isn't there, maybe the right offensive tackle or defensive back is there.

Filling these needs are interconnected, including not just the draft, but with free agency as well.

However, dealing with just the draft...

I would prioritize WR as the most important need. But if there aren't any top flight WR's in the draft, then yes, move on to BPA at another area of need. Personally, I prioritze having a terrifying pass rush over having shut down corners.

With the top picks I would be looking to grab a WR, a tackle, a pass rusher and some help in the secondary. With later picks I would be looking for development players, specifically a QB. I would say a WR, but Ireland hasn't exactly done well with late round QB's.

It depends. I consider o-line, wideout, and defensive backs to be our three biggest areas of need, and not in any particular order.

You're more likely to find a serviceable offensive lineman later in the draft than you are to find a stud WR or CB.

You can find stud WRs and CBs in the 2nd and 3rd round (where we have four picks, five if Long goes and we get a late 3rd compensatory). I get what you're saying, but if the right guy is there (even if he's a lineman), and he grades out the highest on your evaluation, then you pick the guy. Take the guy you like and think will best fit your system, don't reach based on need.